Harrisburg, PA – Pennsylvania’s Governor Rendell joined with Senator Harry Reid and other nationally prominent Democrats to announce their “Energy Independence 2020” program. This program calls for a massive government effort reminiscent of the Apollo program with the lofty goals of freeing the United States from dependence on foreign energy sources while somehow reducing energy costs.

LPPA Chair, David Jahn, explained the program’s fundamental flaw, “The governor and his cronies believe that government bureaucrats are somehow smarter than entrepreneurs in determining where to invest individuals’ dollars. Government regulations and big government programs typically end up increasing costs and creating new obstacles to finding new energy supplies.”

During the oil price spike of 1979, Great Britain was “energy independent”. All its crude oil came from the North Sea. Yet, the price spike impacted Great Britain as hard as it hit Japan, a country totally dependent on oil imports.

The United States imports oil because it is significantly less expensive than domestic solutions. Cutting ourselves off from these options will leave us with fewer, more costly choices.

The best prescription for our current energy issues is the libertarian prescription – to allow the marketplace to function while protecting private property from polluters. Government should eliminate subsidies and reduce bureaucratic regulations. Subsidies promote inefficiency and reward behaviors that serve government and not consumers. Most regulations simply limit the number of competitors facilitating a de facto government-sanctioned monopoly.

Jahn quipped, “I wouldn’t be surprised if Governor Rendell expanded the state’s gambling monopoly to include a ‘Slots for Watts’ program.” Leard followed with, “The best thing Governor Rendell can do to promote energy independence is to keep his limo within the speed limit on the Pennsylvania turnpike.”

The Libertarian Party is the third largest political party in the United States with over 600 officials serving in office throughout the nation. The Libertarian Party of Pennsylvania has placed statewide candidates on the ballot more often than any other third party and has championed improved ballot access to provide the voters of Pennsylvania greater choice. Please visit www.LP.org or www.LPPA.org for more information on the Libertarian Party.